Description

The Beatles, Ed Sullivan, and Brian Epstein- Signatures from
their Historic First American Appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show,
February 9, 1964. A 12" x 10" inside cover of a foldover photo
album containing an 8" x 10" early glossy of the Fab Four. It was
signed by the Beatles at inarguably the most important single
performance of their careers. All the signatures are in black ink
and three bear personal sentiments to [almost certainly] Fred Kaps,
a fellow performer on the show: "To Fred best wishes and see you
on another tour! George Harrison", "All the best, Fred -
keep smiling and touring! Paul McCartney", "lots of luggage
Fred from John Lennon", and "Best Wishes Ringo Starr".
If only just the Beatles had signed this on that magical night, it
would be one of only a few such items that exist. The addition of
the signature of the host of this legendary Sunday night variety
show, "Hi Fred Ed Sullivan", makes it completely unique- the
only known item signed as such. Their manager was with them that
night and he also signed it: "Cheers Fred Brian Epstein".
The desirability of an already unique item has now zoomed into the
stratosphere. This is a set of signatures that transcends autograph
collecting and even Beatle collecting. This is absolutely a piece
of Pop Culture History.

We haven't even mentioned that, at a later date, the road manager
and press officer also signed this same photo album: "See you in
England Fred Neil Aspinall" and "Derek Taylor -You were the
most welcome member at any press conference or auditorium". The
Beatles made history, pure and simple. The other signatories on
this piece are the ones that were right there at their sides as it
occurred, helping to make it happen. Without a doubt, the most
important piece of Beatle memorabilia ever to be offered.

This was their first live appearance in America and 73 million
Americans tuned in to hear the young lads from Liverpool with the
long hair. (Note: the population in the United States was
approximately 190 million in 1964.) Your cataloguer is old enough
to remember it well. America was glued to their TV sets as we heard
the solemn-faced Ed Sullivan mention that the Beatles had received
a congratulatory telegram from Elvis and the Colonel. In his
introduction, he said: "Now yesterday and today our theater's been
jammed with newspapermen and hundreds of photographers from all
over the nation, and these veterans agreed with me that the city
never has the excitement stirred by these youngsters from
Liverpool, who call themselves The Beatles. Now tonight, you're
going to twice be entertained by them. Right now, and again in the
second half of our show. Ladies and gentlemen, the Beatles. Let's
bring them on." The girls in the audience started screaming the
second he finished. The cameras then focused on the Beatles as
McCartney counted-in to an energetic performance of "All My
Loving." That song was followed by Paul crooning a ballad from
The Music Man titled "Til There Was You". (That probably won
a lot of the young girls' moms over.) They closed out this historic
first American performance with the infectious "yeah yeah yeahs" of
their hit "She Loves You." Every time they sang "wooo" or shook
their heads, the screams got even louder. They ended their first
set with formal bows. About thirty minutes later, Ed Sullivan
announced, "Ladies and Gentlemen, once again..." This time John,
Paul, George, and Ringo performed both sides of their mega-hit
Capitol single, "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "I Saw Her Standing
There." They then put down their instruments and walked over to
shake hands with Sullivan. Performance over. History made. Payback
complete for the "colonies" split from England nearly 200 years
before. America was once again "owned" by the British. And this was
just round one of the invasion; the Beatles opened the door for
numerous British acts to make it in America.

Of course, some act had the unenviable task to follow the Beatles'
first American performance. That distinction fell to Fred Kaps, a
world-class European magician who specialized in close-up sleight
of hand tricks. We feel that this signed photo album folder was
likely inscribed to him that historic night. In Kaps' long career
in Europe, his and the Beatles' paths could have easily crossed at
variety venues or television shows. The inscriptions would seem to
indicate that they were familiar with this person named Fred as one
who also toured. As an aside, there was another act on that night's
show- five members of the Broadway cast of Oliver! appeared
and performed two songs from the hit musical. The actor who played
the part of the Artful Dodger was a young British actor and singer
named Davy Jones. Of course, he would soon make millions of girls
scream for him as a member of the Monkees. He later said of that
night: "I watched the Beatles from the side of the stage, I saw the
girls going crazy, and I said to myself, this is it, I want a piece
of that."

Heritage is proud to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Beatles
in America by offering this amazing piece. We feel that the bidding
will be fierce. We know that many many Beatle fans will want to
call this their own. Don't let this opportunity pass you by; you
may never have another chance to own such a unique item as
this.

This lot will include original signed letters from two of the most
respected experts in the field of Beatles autographs and
memorabilia: Frank Caiazzo and Perry Cox. The full texts of their
enthusiastic endorsements of this lot are available on our website.
We will mention just a couple of their comments. "It should be
noted that the fact The Beatles signed this item on this historical
date makes this arguably one of the most significant signed Beatles
items in existence. The inclusion of Ed Sullivan's signature puts
this item in a league by itself, because it is the only known such
set to surface to date from this historical event." (Frank Caiazzo,
2011). "I'd say that certainly makes this singular item one of the
most important and historic autographed items in existence. Not
only is it a fantastic Beatles signed item marking what is their
most important event, it is also important historically as that
night is often documented as 'very significant' in changing our
culture forever and aided greatly in helping our nation heal from
the tragic events of late November 1963." [Perry Cox, 2013].

More Information:

CAIAZZO LETTER, Dated 2011.

"The purpose of this letter is to serve as an appraisal for an item which has been signed by all four members of the British Rock and Roll quartet known as The Beatles. This item is the inside top half of a 10" X 12" individual gatefold photo album, designed to hold one 8" X10" photograph. All have signed this item beautifully in black ballpoint pen and added the following sentiments before their respective signatures: John Lennon wrote 'lots of luggage Fred' before his signature, Paul McCartney has written 'All the best, Fred-keep smiling and touring', George Harrison has inscribed 'To Fred best wishes and see you on another tour!\ and Ringo has added 'Best Wishes'. All of the signatures are near perfect, complete examples by each member. This item was signed on the night of February 9,1964, at the CBS Studio # 50 in New York City, which was the home of the Ed Sullivan Show, where The Beatles appeared on the evening of that date for their first ever performance in America. In addition, this item includes the signatures of Ed Sullivan and Brian Epstein, both of whom were present on that historical night. Ed has signed nicely in purple ballpoint pen, 'Hi Fred Ed Sullivan' and Brian has signed 'Cheers Fred Brian Epstein' in blue ballpoint. Brian Epstein, The Beatles' manager, was very instrumental in booking the group to appear on the Ed Sullivan Show. The 'Fred' that The Beatles, Sullivan, and the others refer to on this item is most likely the famed European magician Fred Kaps, who appeared on the show that evening. The signatures of Neil Aspinall and Derek Taylor also appear on this item. Each was added shortly after The Beatles signed it, but at a later date. Both also wrote short messages to Fred. Neil wrote 'See you in England Fred', and Derek added 'You were the most welcome member at any press conference or auditorium'. Neil Aspinall was the long time road manager for The Beatles, who is now the managing director of Apple Corps. Derek Taylor was Brian Epstein's personal assistant beginning in 1964 and eventually rose to the position of The Beatles' press officer. Brian Epstein, of course, was largely responsible for bringing The Beatles to the world's attention with extreme care and affection when managing the group.

"It should be noted that the fact The Beatles signed this item on this historical date makes this arguably one of the most significant signed Beatles items in existence. The inclusion of Ed Sullivan's signature puts this item in a league by itself, because it is the only known such set to surface to date from this historical event. This was the very night that launched 'Beatlemania' in the U.S. and the rest of the world excluding the U.K., where 'Beatlemania' was in full swing already. As noted, this was The Beatles' first ever U.S. performance, and as thus, to many this night was the most historic and eventful occasion in The Beatles' history and to rock & roll history in general. This item is currently in the personal collection of Mr. Harlan P. Busch, as above. This item is reproduced below, reduced in size.

"I place a value of $125,000 on this item. This is the current market value, as well as the current replacement value of this item as of this date.

Frank Caiazzo"

COX LETTER, Dated 2013

"I can scarcely think of a greater single event in Beatles history than their appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show February 9, 1964, in New York City. No other single moment did more to propel them to the attention of U.S.A. and indeed, the world than their performances that evening viewed by over 73,000,000 Americans!

"To date, there are a handful of very nice items that were known to be autographed by the Beatles on that incredible day and evening. Among them are a couple of albums, a wine bottle, and even a section of the backstage wall from the Ed Sullivan Theatre in New York City! All of those items are now considered world class artifacts from a night the entire world will long remember into the next millennium and well beyond.

"Considering the magnitude and importance of that evening, one might assume that many of those signed items would've also been signed by the legendary host himself, Mr. Ed Sullivan! The surprising fact is that to date, we've only verified ONE single item that was actually signed by The Beatles and Ed Sullivan together! That's right ONLY ONE!!!

"Yes, in all the enormity of that evening, and to date, only ONE single item has ever been verified to exist that was signed by both The Beatles and Ed Sullivan together. That being an old style gatefold freestanding framed picture of the Beatles signed on the inside blank panel area by all four Beatles and Ed Sullivan! I'd say that certainly makes this singular item one of the most important and historic autographed items in existence. Not only is it a fantastic Beatles signed item marking what is their most important event, it is also important historically as that night is often documented as "very significant" in changing our culture forever and aided greatly in helping our nation heal from the tragic events of late November 1963. Now add to this the fact that the item was also signed by their beloved manager, Brian Epstein and its importance becomes even more prominent!

"In all areas of collecting, be it pop culture or historical, there are those items that rise to the very top levels in terms of importance and significance. This one item signed by both the Beatles and Ed Sullivan together stands among the very best there is and ever will be to own and treasure. It truly is a one of a kind item and it couldn't have represented a greater event than the amazing night the Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan show.